Thunderfingers
by rockerchik777
Summary: Katie finds out that being a bassist doesn't have to suck, and that lots of things are more difficult than they seem at first. I suck at summaries, so please just read it! And review it too!
1. Discovering

-This is my new fic, it's called Thunderfingers. For those who don't know (and shame on you!), Thunderfingers is one of the many nicknames for the best bassist of all time, John Entwistle! On with the story!-

It had been a year since Battle of the Bands. School of Rock was currently working on it's first album, tentatively titled School of Rock. Each member of the actual band was asked to have some input on the album, but it was obvious that some were just not going to be capable of writing a song. Zack was writing lyrics and basic chords, but really it was Dewey doing most of the work.

Although Dewey really sucked at a lot of instruments (pretty much every single one except guitar), he could still piece together a basic melody, and Zack was quickly learning. Everyone was allowed, however, to write their own solos, except for Katie, who was not allowed to have any solos. "Bass doesn't have solos, Katie! Bassists can't smile, and all bassists need to know is how to rock a G note," Dewey explained to her. That satisfied Katie. For a little while, at least.

The band had been getting gigs at local clubs, and were currently negotiating a regular Friday night gig at Ziggy's. Every night that they had a gig, Katie would watch everyone solo except for her as she played in the same key for their entire set. It didn't occur to her that this was bad, and she went along with it, until that fateful night at Borders.

Her mother had been looking at books while Katie ventured into the CD section. At one listening post was a compilation CD by The Who called Then and Now. She remembered seeing the band's name on the huge chart of rock that she had written down a year before in class. But Katie didn't know anything else about them. However, figuring that Dewey couldn't be wrong about a rock group, she picked up the headphones and started listening. Track number one, I Can't Explain, was good. She liked it. Track number two was called My Generation. This was the song that would change it all.

About halfway through the song, Katie heard something. Could it be? It really sounded like it. But it was impossible! Dewey had told her, there can't be a bass solo! And yet there was one in this song, plain as day! Katie was excited. Perhaps she wouldn't have to always play in the same key! Maybe she could have a solo!

The CD had twenty tracks, but a CD beside it, The Who: The Ultimate Collection, had thirty-five tracks. She picked the one with more songs on it and took out the allowance that she had gotten the day before. Katie bought the CD and waited impatiently as her mom bought two books. She wanted to get home and listen to the CD!

The ride home took forever, but Katie got there eventually. She popped CD number one into her stereo and listened to My Generation again. She felt a small thrill as she heard the bass solo and listened to all the other tracks on the first CD. Only one other song had a bass solo. It was called Call Me Lightning. Katie didn't like the song very much, it was a cotton candy song. So sweet it would make you sick. But it had a bass solo! This was two pieces of evidence against Dewey's theory so far. Katie listened to the second CD and couldn't believe her ears when she heard The Real Me. It was completely bass! The song wasn't driven by a guitar, like every other rock song in history (a/n except Happy Jack by The Who, Keith Moon really banged his drums on that one!), it was driven by the bass!

The next day at band practice, Katie went up to Dewey.

"Hey Dewey. Uh, I just wanted to know if I could have a solo in the next song we write for the album. Please?"

"Uh, Katie, hello? We can't have a bass solo in a song! It just doesn't work."

"What? That is such bull! I mean, come on! There have been bass solos in songs! Dewey, just let me have a frickin solo!"

"You know what Katie? Stop bothering me about this. We can find a new bass player just like that." He snapped his fingers as he said 'that' and then walked off to observe how Zack's new song was going. "Damn," Katie whispered under her breath.

-I know it's short, but I felt like that was a good place to stop, because this is the introductory chapter, where you find out what part one of the plot is. There are two parts, the other will come later, and it is a secret! Anyways, REVIEW!!!-


	2. Plotting

-Thanks so much to all my reviewers! I hardly ever get that many reviews on one chapter, so thank you so much to each and every one of you! Now on with the story!-

Katie decided to be very pouty for the rest of band practice, so she didn't speak to anyone and had an extremely sullen look on her face. When practice ended and her mom picked her up, she didn't say goodbye to anyone. She kept her solemn expression until she got to her room, where she started to blast My Generation. She had to have a solo, she just had to! But how was she going to get one?

Then she got an idea. She took the CD out of her stereo and grabbed the other CD, then ran downstairs to her computer room. She burned a mixed CD with the three songs that had significant bass in them. Katie was going to somehow get it to Dewey without him knowing that it was her who gave it to him. She decided to casually put it beside his guitar the next day at band practice, and if he asked whose it was, she wouldn't say a word.

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At band practice the next day, Katie tried to act like she was over the whole solo thing. She played her two rotating notes perfectly. But when Dewey went to the bathroom, a devious smile crept up upon her face and she whipped the CD from her backpack, laying it next to Dewey's Gibson SG (a/n just like the one Pete Townshend used at Woodstock!). Then Katie realized that everyone was staring at her. "Don't say a word about this, okay you guys?" she asked. Everyone nodded their heads.

Dewey came back and saw the CD. "Whose is this?" he asked, looking around. No one said anything. "Whose is this?" Dewey repeated. This time, everyone said, "Not mine." "Well now it's mine," he said, and he stuffed it into one of his pockets.

Katie suppressed her smile and looked forward to the next day, when she would ask for a solo again. But for now she went home and listened to her Who CD. While she was listening she read the little booklet that came with the CD. She found out that John Entwistle was the bassist of The Who, and that his solo in My Generation was the first recorded bass solo ever!

And though John didn't smile very much, he did smile sometimes. He was what held The Who down, and he was Katie's new idol. She went to sleep happy, and dreamed about meeting John Entwistle. Except, she met him in heaven. Because he died two years ago at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas from a heart attack. But you get it.

The next morning she woke up and put on jeans and a green CBGB shirt (a/n I have a green CBGB shirt, which I actually got at CBGB!). She slipped on her kelly green low top Converse sneakers and went downstairs. It was Friday, so she didn't have to wear her uniform. Katie ate a quick breakfast then went upstairs to brush her hair. When she came back down she was ready for school.

School was like it always was: completely and totally boring. When it was finally lunchtime Katie got her tray of food and sat down with a few of the band members. Zack and Freddy on one side of the table, her and Summer on the other side. Just like always. When she sat down, Zack was quick to ask her a question. "What was that CD that you mysteriously gave to Dewey?" he asked.

"Oh, well, you know how Dewey said I can't have a solo because bass can't have a solo? Well, I listened to this CD that I got and there are two tracks with bass solos and one where you don't really hear the guitar, you just hear the bass! So I gave him that CD which had all three of those tracks burned onto it. Maybe that'll change his mind, because I really want a solo."

It was explanation enough for everybody, and they went on eating. Katie found herself getting excited, because later today she would have Dewey's reaction, and she might even get her own solo!

-Another short chapter, and I apologize, but I felt like that was a good place to stop. Please REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-


	3. Solo!

-Wow I just keep getting nonstop reviews, so thanks to everybody who reviewed! Here we go!!!-

When school ended, Katie walked outside with Zack and they waited for Zack's dad to pick them up and take them to band practice. They carpooled on Fridays because Katie's mom had to work late every Friday. Mr. Mooneyham got there quickly and dropped them off at Dewey's apartment. Katie was beyond excited, so she dashed up the steps, with Zack trailing behind her, walking at a normal pace.

Katie reached the top of the steps and almost tore down the door. She got it open without breaking it and saw Freddy sitting at his drum set, scratching his back with one of his drumsticks. Summer was sitting on a sofa writing furiously on a notepad. With the album came a ton of work for Summer, but she had proven that she was capable of handling it. Dewey was tuning his guitar, but looked up when he heard Katie come in. He pulled the mixed CD out of his pocket and said, "You wanted me to listen to this, didn't you?" Katie nodded solemnly, realizing that her plan hadn't worked.

"Look, I was really dumb, okay Katie? You can have a solo, but make sure you don't disappoint. I'm really stressing over the album and everything, so you'll have to write your own solos and parts. Do you think you can handle it?"

She was surprised, she hadn't expected her plan to work. She nodded so hard that her head hurt. She grabbed her bass, tuned it, and started experimenting. It was only then that she realized that this was going to be way harder than she thought. Katie tried tugging at a couple of the strings, trying to get a good melody to come out. After a few minutes she found a note that she really liked. She took out a pen and wrote the note down on her hand. Okay, she thought, that's a good start. Now to just get down a lot more notes and make it flow together coherently.

She pulled another string but didn't like the sound. Before she could try another chord, Dewey called everyone into their rock and roll positions. Katie looked up and realized that everyone else had arrived at practice. They played School of Rock, their signature song, which was to be the opener on the album. After that they played a new song by Zack called Watch Out (a/n this isn't a real song as far as I know, I just made up a song title!).

Before they could play anything else, Summer interrupted. "You guys, come on! We've got a gig in an hour, so everyone get in Dewey's van!" The roadies, who only came to practice on Fridays, got all the instruments and loaded them in the van. The band got in the back of the van and they went off to Ziggy's.

They played a great show, and all their parents came to see them. Everyone took a solo except for Katie. She was a little bit angry about that, but reminded herself that she had just been given permission to write her own solos. When the gig was over, Katie grabbed her bass and took it home for the weekend.

When she got home she worked all night on putting together a solo. She got about six more notes and they all flowed together. It was a good start, but she would have to keep working on it. Exhausted, Katie went to bed at three A. M. The next day she worked some more on the solo. It was far harder than she thought anything could ever be. But when part one of it was done, she picked up her bass and played it. It sounded great! Now to get part two down.

Katie took a break from slaving over her bass and watched some TV for a while. Then she listened to her Who CD again. She knew that her solo could never be better than the one that The Ox (a/n another nickname for John Entwistle!) played in My Generation. But she was going to try her very, very hardest to make it just as good, and to prove to everyone that there could be bass solos! Katie's solo would be the best thing to happen to School of Rock since Dewey had walked into their class a little over a year ago.

-I know that these chapters have been really short, and I'm really sorry about that. I don't know, I guess for this story it's just easier to write shorter chapters. REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!-


	4. Reaction

-Thanks to all my great reviewers! I have something to say: I was told that John Entwistle wasn't the only great bassist out there, and I'm aware of that. But he is widely regarded as the best bassist that ever was and could be, and his solo in My Generation was the first recorded bass solo, so if he hadn't done that then the other bass solos probably wouldn't exist. Also, The Who is my favorite band so I'm making this fic about John because he was in The Who (RIP John!). Anyways, here's the next chapter!-

Katie's weekend seemed to fly by. She worked on her solo most of Saturday, but on Sunday she had church and went out to lunch after that with her family. She couldn't stay up late that night because she had school the next day. But she finished the solo, somehow. When Katie played it she thought it sounded really good. She just hoped it wasn't one of those things like singing, where you think you sound good but then you actually suck.

The next day at school Katie sat at her usual spot in the lunchroom. Summer and Zack were really excited about hearing Katie's solo after school, but Freddy was trying to finish up the homework that he hadn't done which was due next period. Katie was excited about the solo too. Everyone in the band would get to hear it, except for the roadies, security, and the groupies. They wouldn't hear it until Friday.

School passed by surprisingly quickly. Except for the last minute. Katie watched the second hand take it's dear sweet time as it moved around the face of the clock, but finally it was three o clock and the bell rang. Katie tore down the hall and saw her mom's car already sitting in the parking lot. She hopped in and tapped her foot against the floor extremely quickly all the way to Dewey's apartment. Finally, they were there and Katie tried to calm herself down. It didn't work.

"Have you got the solo finished yet?" Dewey asked her when she opened the front door. Katie nodded and started tuning her bass. She was ready before most people were even there, and she waited impatiently. The band members trickled in slowly, and to Katie it felt like a millennium had passed by the time everyone had arrived. Dewey told everyone to shut up and began speaking.

"Guys, I got something really important to tell you. Well, two things. First, we're gonna be laying down the tracks for the album next week, so when everyone gets here I'll drive us over to the studio. Don't be late! We're gonna try and get all the overdubs done on Saturday, but if we don't finish then we'll go back to the studio on Sunday. My second announcement is that Katie has been working on a bass solo and she is going to play it for us now. So everybody, turn your attention to Katie!"

Katie was a little nervous now that everyone was looking at her, and she struggled for a moment to remember the notes. When she remembered, she looked down at her bass and concentrated on plucking the strings and making the sound flow together. She looked up, excited to see what everyone thought of her solo.

Dewey appeared to be at a loss for words. His mouth hung open and he walked backward a few steps and fell into a chair. Everyone else seemed to be feeling the same thing. Katie smiled and thought, they were blown away by my solo! "Uh, Katie..." Zack said. She looked at him expectantly, but he didn't say anything else. He looked like he was really struggling with what words he should say, so Dewey too over.

"Katie, I hate to burst your bubble, but that was...terrible. I'm sorry, I really am, and I don't wanna hurt your feelings, but...Here's the thing: we're laying down all the tracks next week, which means you have until next Friday to write a face melting solo. I know you can do it. Just stick it to the Man."

Katie was a little bit shocked, because she had truly believed that her solo rocked. She felt tears begin to form and she dropped her bass on the floor and took off running. Freddy's mouth hung down in an 'o' as he watched Katie race out of the apartment, and he wandered over to the window in time to see her running down the street. Then he saw Summer running after Katie, trying to catch her.

Summer ran as fast as she could. She was puffing and panting, but she was catching up. She came close enough and grabbed Katie's arm. Katie stopped running and turned around. She saw Summer and started sobbing. "I worked so hard on it," she said.

"It's okay," Summer soothed, "I'll help you with your new solo if you want. I can tell you what sounds good and what sounds bad. You're gonna have a bass solo on our first album, I guarantee it!"

-REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-


	5. Aftermath

-Hey, oh my gosh, thanks for all the great reviews!!! I start school tomorrow, ugh, so I won't be updating as frequently, sorry. If you want to contact me about anything, questions, discussions, my AIM is schoolofrockgal7. And to answer your question, Swimmerkitti, this takes place one year after Battle of the Bands, so they should be around 11/12 years old. Also, Rest In Peace Keith Moon, the greatest drummer the world has ever seen. You made drums sound like a lead instrument. We miss you a lot, and you were really hot when you were 18! Okay, here we go!-

Katie had sat down on the curb and leaned on Summer's shoulder as she cried. She wasn't really crying because the bass solo was bad. Well, yeah, actually, that was part of it. But it was more that she had worked so hard to get a solo and she blew it. She told Summer what she was feeling, and Summer tried to make her feel better.

"It's okay Katie, you heard what Dewey said. You have until next Friday to write a perfect solo, and I'm gonna help you. It's all gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be fine."

Katie looked up through her tears. She'd been out in the street for maybe ten minutes, and now everyone had come down from Dewey's to make sure she was alright. Dewey looked very concerned and told her that she could go home if she wanted. She nodded and he said, "Come inside and you can use my phone to call your mom."

Everyone started walking back to the apartment, with Summer holding Katie's shoulder. Once they were inside, Katie called her mom and then sat down on the sofa. It was an awkward moment for the rest of the band. They couldn't really play without Katie. Well, they could. They had two guitar players, one as lead and one as background rhythm, so they didn't need a bass. But playing without Katie wouldn't really be right when she was sitting right there. So they took their break early.

Zack walked over to where Katie was sitting. "Hey," he said, "I know Summer offered to help you, but she really doesn't know much about writing music. I could help you if you wanted." Katie bit her lip and repressed tears. She didn't know why they were coming, it was probably just the mention of the solo. She nodded. "Okay," Zack said, "You can come over to my house tomorrow after school, my dad will take us home. That is, if you want to." Katie nodded again.

She watched Zack walk off. He didn't part his hair to the side anymore or put gel in it. It had been her idea that he stopped doing that. She remembered after Battle of the Bands, she and Freddy had told him his hair looked dumb, and they told him to change it, so he did. Zack was her third best friend, after Summer and Freddy. Katie was lucky to have such good friends like Summer and Zack that would help her in her time of need. Freddy didn't ever help her, but he never really did much of anything.

There was a knock on the doors and Katie's thoughts were interrupted. Her mom was there, so she said goodbye to everyone and went down the stairs with her mom, out to the car. "What happened?" her mom asked.

"I, uh, felt sick." Katie didn't want to tell her mom what had really happened because her mother didn't like her spending a lot of time on bass. Her mom thought she should be focusing on school work. Katie didn't like lying to her mom, but she needed to nail the solo. Which brought her to another lie. "Mom, I need to go over to Zack's tomorrow after school to work on a project. His dad will pick us up and take us to Zack's house."

Her mom bought it, all of it. They didn't say anything else for the rest of the ride in the car. Katie went up to her room when they got home and picked up her Who CD, but then she put it back down. She didn't want to hear an excellent solo when hers had been so awful. She instead fooled around on her computer, checking out a few websites before she went to bed early.

-REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-


	6. Reverie

-Hey, school's been busy, but I'm trying to write despite all the work! 10th grade seems pretty cool so far. But you don't want to know about my school stuff, you want the next chapter! But, like the Rolling Stones once said you can't always get what you want. But this time, I'm going to give it to you. So here's the next chapter!-

Someone was gently shaking her and saying her name. Katie opened her eyes groggily and saw her mother. She had to go to school. The pain from the day before hadn't gone away, in fact, it had gotten a little worse because she had to face everyone today at school. It was going to be embarrassing because they had all seen her break down. So Katie decided that she would try to pull herself away from being in her body. It didn't really work, but she got dazed from the concentration she had been using to try and free herself from her body.

Katie felt a little bit faint and a little bit like she really needed some glasses. Her vision had blurred for some reason. So when she got to school she floated to her seat and sat down. For the whole class period she stared off into space, hardly ever blinking. The rest of the day went the same, except for lunch.

At lunch, Katie sat at her normal tale. Summer had seen her in class the period before and was concerned. "Katie," she said, "Katie, can you hear me?" But Katie continued to stare through Freddy's head like he wasn't even there. It was freaking him out. He waved his hand in front of her face, but she didn't blink. He screamed in her ear, but she didn't flinch.

"It's almost like she's deaf dumb and blind." Freddy commented. (A/n haha! Any Who fans will understand!!! But Katie doesn't play a mean pinball!) So Zack Freddy and Summer sat eating their lunch, totally weirded out. Soon lunch ended, and Katie floated off again.

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The final dismissal bell rang at three o clock. Katie, who had been resting her chin on her hand, was snapped out of her reverie. She didn't remember much of what had happened that day, in fact, she didn't remember anything. But she knew that she was going to Zack's, so she got up and went outside to find him.

He was standing on the curb, looking around, and then at the ground. When he looked up again, She was standing next to him. Zack could tell that she was back down to Earth, and he was glad about that. He smiled at her and she smiled back, and then Mr. Mooneyham's car pulled up, and they hopped in.

-This is by far the shortest chapter I've ever written for anything, and I apologize. But The Simpsons starts in a few minutes and I'm not going to miss any of it! So I'll probably update this weekend!!!-


	7. Bass Sessions With Zack

-Thank you so much to all my reviewers! I was kind of going for a Tommy thing in the last chapter. Because I'm beyond obsessed with The Who. And I am so happy that I didn't write a longer chapter and watched The Simpsons instead yesterday, because it was the episode with The Who in it! I taped it. Anyways, The Who rock hard, and here's the next chapter!-

Zack and Katie both sat in the backseat, but they didn't say anything. Katie was clutching her bass and staring out the window, while Zack was staring into the seat in front of him. Luckily for them, the drive was very shirt and in no time they had pulled up in front of Zack's house. The two band mates went directly to Zack's room.

He pulled out his Flying V and tuned it while Katie did the same with her bass. Then he pulled out two amps. One had been a gift from Dewey, the other he'd bought himself. Once everything was plugged in and ready, Zack asked Katie to play her solo for him.

She did, and he tried not to groan. Then Zack had Katie write down the tabs for the solo, and he checked them out. He made a few notes, and had her play the solo again. She did, and it sounded worse. "I have a feeling this isn't going to be easy," Zack said.

"Tell me about it."

They decided to start over from scratch. Katie would play a few notes together, and then Zack would give her a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Then he would take his guitar and play the notes, just so she could ear them for real. Katie would tweak the notes and produce a better sound. "Slightly better sounding, it should definitely go in the solo," she said.

"Look, Katie, we only want the best stuff to go in your solo. Don't just take whatever you can get. Your solo needs to be awesome, totally kick ass, not lame."

So they continued to work on it until a littler bit before dinner time, which was when Katie had to go home. She left her bass at Zack's because she would be skipping band practice with him again the next day to work on the solo some more. It really needed work because so far they had only gotten five notes together. Zack had played the notes back to her and she broke out in a smile because even if it was only the start, her solo was rocking!

Katie went home and ate her dinner. After that, she ran up to her room and with renewed energy listened to her Who CD. Her solo was going to be awesome, just like every solo John Entwistle, the best bassist that ever was or ever could be, had had! She went to bed that night with smile on her face.

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The next day at school, everyone was questioning Katie about her solo, but she wouldn't reveal anything. She would just say that it was coming along nicely, and she made sure that Zack knew to keep his lips zipped. He did just that, and the two's silence made everyone else from the band rather curious and pissed off.

Katie was bored all throughout the school day, but when the final bell rang, she practically ran outside to wait with Zack, whose dad was already there.

After the short drive, Katie and Zack were up in his room playing their guitars. They had learned a lot the day before and writing fluent notes for the solo came easier now. That night they were able to get eleven notes, making sixteen in all. They divided the notes for an intercession of guitar playing by Zack. Now Katie only needed one more part and her solo would be completed.

She had memorized the first few notes, but it would take her a day or two to get the rest down pat, and she still had the third and final part. It was only Wednesday, and she was surprised at how quickly things were going.

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At Katie's little session with Zack on Thursday, they played the solo so far for the first time. It didn't sound good, but this time it wasn't the bass that was bad, it was the guitar. The guitar just wasn't complementing the bass. They didn't accomplish any notes for the bass that night because Zack worked the whole time on getting his part right. Katie was left to strumming her bass and playing her part over and over so that Zack could perfect his guitar's part.

Katie was getting a little scared. They couldn't have their practice session the next night because it was a Friday, and they had to play their gig. Zack was busy on the weekend, and they were laying down tracks the whole next week. She was going to have to finish her solo all by herself.

-REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-


	8. On Her Own

-I know that it's been forever since I updated. But school's been tough. I had to study for Chemistry and Algebra 2. I hate math more than I love The Who. Which is a lot. Well, I probably love The Who more than I hate Algebra 2, but you get what I mean. Anyways, I'll stop rambling. Here's the next chapter.-

Katie's Friday was typical, she went to school, went to Dewey's, and then went to the band's gig. The only thing that wasn't normal about it was the anxiety she felt. The band was laying down tracks all next week, so she had to have her solo finished by this weekend. It would be the only time she had to work on it.

The only other thing out of the ordinary was that Dewey announced that there would be no overdubbing during the weekend. All of that would be done on Thursday and Friday. Laying down an entire album in five days was going to be tough, but it had been done many, many times before. Dewey wanted this album to be as close to a classic rock album as it could be. He also wanted the band to play the song together, in the same recording studio, at the same time, with each other.

Dewey wanted this album to be pure. And that was going to make it tougher for Katie, because the pressure was definitely on. After the band finished their gig they went backstage. Summer congratulated them on a great show and everyone drank some water. They'd been offstage for only three minutes when they ran back onstage for an encore.

One of School of Rock's signatures was it's encores. They were always only one song, and always a cover of a great classic rock song. Tonight, they played Layla by Derek and the Dominoes, featuring Eric Clapton. Zack shredded his guitar, and even tried wind milling once. It hurt his fingernail like hell, and he decided that he was not ready to pull off Pete Townshendesque antics on stage...yet. Maybe in a couple years.

Katie's bass didn't really play a part, the song was all about the guitar. So when the song was over, she jumped down off the stage with the rest of the band and her mom drove her home. It was late already, and Katie was tired. She went to bed without working on her solo at all.

She slept in until eleven the next morning. When she did wake up, she ate some breakfast and watched the Olympics for a while. But Katie still had to finish her solo, and she had about ten notes to set down. So she went to her room and strummed her bass for awhile, writing down three notes. By that time, she was getting hungry, so she went downstairs.

Katie checked the clock and was surprised to find out that it was already six in the evening. The day had flown by. She only had one more day to get her solo down pat, and she had to get seven more notes written. She grabbed a quick bite to eat and ran back upstairs, where she wrote down three more notes before going to bed at midnight.

On Sunday morning Katie was up earlier. She worked on her bass and found that she had been struck with some kind of inspiration. She had only four more notes to write, and they were written within two hours. Katie was excited. She played her solo and thought that it sounded great. But then again, that was what she had thought last time. Last time had been a total disaster.

But before she could think of a way to find out if her solo was great or if it sucked, she had to go to church. She sat through the mass, trying to think about what was going on in church, but her mind kept wandering back to her solo. How was she going to get it so she could listen to it?

In the car on the way home from church, Katie got an idea. When she got home she raced up to her room and changed back into her normal clothes, then brought her bass and amp downstairs. She found her mom and asked her about the idea. Katie's mom disappeared for a moment, by reappeared with a video camera.

Katie played her solo while her mom filmed it. When the taping was done, Katie's mom transferred the tape to actual VHS. But it had gotten late, and before Katie could watch the tape, she had to eat dinner.

All through dinner she was anxious. This was it. If the solo wasn't good then there would be no solo. There wasn't any time to write a new ending. She could hardly eat, she was so agitated. But her mom made her. As soon as she finished her plate, Katie rushed to her den.

She picked the tape up off the floor and turned on the TV, switching it to the right channel. Katie put the tape in the VCR (her family still had one, even though they had a DVD player) and pushed play.

-Okay, please review!!! And I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed my other fic, Dewey's Letter. I don't know if all of you will be seeing this, but thanks! After I finish Thunderfingers, I will be putting out a new fic, I don't know if it will be a one-shot or not, but it's another one about Dewey. It's got a lot of the ideas that I wanted to use in Dewey's Letter but couldn't find a place for. And the concept for it is one that I was thinking about while I wrote Dewey's Letter. So look out for that when I finish this! REVIEW!!!!!-


	9. The Solo

-Hey thanks to the people that reviewed! Here's the next chapter!-

Katie inserted the tape and pressed Play. She watched herself play parts one, two, and three, pausing in between to signify that there would be a guitar break there. The final break came, and Katie held her breath. This was it. If it wasn't good then there would be no solo.

She stared intently at the screen. Katie saw herself place her fingers in the right positions and she saw herself start to play the notes. The television made the notes explode in her ears. The tape went blank, it was over. And her solo totally rocked!

It had been a long road, and a difficult one too. She'd had help from all her friends, and now, it was finally over. Katie couldn't wait for the next day, because she would get to unveil her solo. She got up from her seat in front of the TV and took her bass upstairs to her room. It was late, so she got in bed, but she had a hard time sleeping.

She kept thinking about the solo, and recording her first album. It hadn't really sunken in yet. She was recording an album tomorrow!!! Katie finally dozed off about an hour later.

The next day at school, everyone probed Katie about her bass solo.

"So how's the solo? is it good?" Summer asked.

"Tell me everything about it!" Zack said.

"Are you gonna eat that sandwich?" Freddy asked.

Katie refused to answer the first two questions, but flung her sandwich at Freddy. "Score!" he screamed. She wouldn't say anything about the solo, making everyone think that it was awful. Soon enough, people stopped asking her questions, except for Freddy, who wanted her pudding as well. She threw it at him, but this time, he didn't catch it. It hit hi square in the face.

Everyone laughed and left him sitting there holding his face as the lunch bell rang. The rest of the day passed excruciatingly slowly for the band, but when the final bell finally rang, they all ran outside, where Dewey was waiting for them with his van. They all hopped in. Their instruments were there too, because they'd put them in their lockers (a/n just pretend they had really big lockers!!!).

Dewey put a tape in the tape player (he didn't have a CD player). The firs song that came on was Substitute by The Who. Dewey sang along the whole time. The next song was, once again, Substitute. "Not again"" Summer yelled. She moved her hand to take the tape out. Dewey slapped it. "Listen up now, this is my car, and we listen to my music! Anyways, it's not even the same song! Well, it is, but it's the cover and it's by The Ramones."

So they listened to Substitute, except it was a much faster version. By now, they were about ten minutes from the recording studio. The opening chords of Substitute came on again. Summer winced and once again moved her hand to turn off the tape, and once again Dewey slapped it. "Ah, ah, ah," he said, "Sex Pistols version!"

By now everyone was tired of the song and listening to Dewey singing it. Katie, Freddy, and Zack started whispering in the back, but Dewey didn't notice. He had one eye on the road and one eye on Summer, which explained why he was driving like a maniac. Katie, Freddy, and Zack snickered in the back and then got really quiet. Freddy put on a really innocent face and then screamed, "STOP THE CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Dewey freaked and slammed on the brakes. Before he could do anything, Zack reached forward and ejected the tape. He then dropped it to the ground and stomped on it as Dewey watched with wide eyes. He appeared to be furious, and he was.

"Freddy! Why the hell did you tell me to stop? And Zack! What the hell was that man?"

Zack smirked. "We can only take so much Substitute."

"Why I oughta-" But they never found out what Dewey oughta do, because he shook his head and started driving again. Summer happily turned the radio on. You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi was on. Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs, "SHOT THROUGH THE HEART! YOU'RE TO BLAME! DARLIN YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME!!!" while Dewey wore a very sour expression on his face. However, by the time the second verse came on, he was singing too. They passed cars on the road and saw people staring at them like they were crazy.

Finally, they reached the recording studio. It had been quite an eventful twenty-five minute drive. They walked inside, carrying their instruments, and got ready to rock. And it was Katie's time to shine.

Once they were inside and had everything hooked up, Dewey asked Katie to play her solo. She did it with pride, and everyone was smiling when she'd finished. She was smiling too.

-Please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-


	10. Recording The Album

-Thanks to my reviewers!!! That was definitely not the end, I have another plot twist up my sleeve! I'm about to reach 50 reviews, so please review this chapter!-

Everyone was smiling for a minute, but Dewey said to them, "Okay, Katie, that was awesome! I'd love to tell you everything I liked about it, but we have an album to record. So let's do it!"

"Yeah!" All the kids screamed. They got to where they were supposed to be, with Summer yelling endlessly about what everyone else should be doing. Dewey and Zack recorded the guitar tracks first, while in a different studio Freddy recorded the drums. It took about a half hour for them to get their tracks down right, and then Katie and Laurence recorded their parts (in separate studios). When Katie started her solo, Dewey gave her the eyebrow wave, so she laughed and messed up. Summer yelled at Dewey and Katie started her solo again.

Katie got her part down shortly after because she only had a few notes to play. When she came out of the studio, she was surprised to see that Dewey and Zack were almost finished recording the next guitar tracks for the next song. Laurence had finished his keyboard in only ten minutes, because he was a classically trained pianist, so obviously, he could play it right the first time. He just had to do one little overdub, which was done then and there, instead of waiting till Friday.

Alicia, Tomika, and Marta were recording background singing for the first two tracks in the studio which Katie had been in before. That took about an hour and a half, so by the time they were done, Katie was back in the studio, recording for the next two tracks.

Finally, all the music was down. The only thing missing was Dewey's voice. He didn't really care about getting it perfect, and claimed that raw sound was better, so within another hour he'd recorded the sound for the first three tracks, while Zack and Freddy worked on getting music down for the third track.

Zack and Freddy were in the studio together to save time. Then Katie went in, and after her Dewey with the other guitar. Laurence had taken another ten minutes to record the other ten minutes, and the back up singers went into the studio. By that time, everyone else was done, and they watched.

Summer laid back in her chair, exhausted from yelling so much. Everyone was tired and wanted to go home, but Dewey had an announcement. "Okay Katie, since you pulled off a great solo, we have a little present for you. At our Friday gig at Ziggy's, we're gonna play My Generation as our encore. Everyone else knows all their licks, all you gotta do is play yours at the gig. We've got a special arrangement to make it very Who-like. Laurence is sitting this one out, and only Zack will be playing guitar. So it'll be me, you, Zack, and Freddy. A true Who lineup. Except Marta Tomika and Alicia will be singing that part that goes Talkin bout my generation. So whaddya think?"

"Awesome!" Katie yelled. She could imagine herself on the Ziggy's stage, playing John Entwistle's solo. It was gonna rock!

Everyone piled back into Dewey's van, and he drove them home. They obviously didn't listen to Substitute. But there was a Rolling Stones music marathon on the radio (a/n ROLLING STONES ROCK!!!) and when Miss You came on, everyone started singing along, and Freddy tapped along.

So when Katie got home she was very happy. Until she realized something. She didn't know how to play that solo. She didn't understand the tabs that you could find on the internet. So, basically, she was screwed. Unless...

Katie called the music store and asked if they could give an emergency one day only lesson tomorrow. They said sure. So tomorrow, Katie would go and record some more, then get home and go to a bass lesson for about two hours. Hopefully she could get it down in that short amount of time. She put in her Who CD and tried to learn the licks by listening. It didn't work. At least I'm a pretty fast learner, she thought.

-I know it's really short, sorry! Please review, I really wanna break the fifty mark!!!-


	11. Bass Lesson

-Thank you for the reviews, this is the first time that I've ever broken 50!!! Anyways, this chapter is going to skip over the school day and recording session, because nothing important happens. Please don't get mad at me.-

Katie woke up in the morning and went to school. She was feeling a little nervous about her bass lesson in the afternoon. She was scared that maybe she wouldn't be able to learn it or something like that. Her fears made the school day seem to be extremely long, and yet when the final bell rang, she couldn't believe that school was over.

She walked outside and Dewey's van was waiting for her. Summer was already there, but she was the only one. Katie hopped in the back and said hello, then just sat there thinking. She was a little bit lost inside herself, so when she looked up she was surprised to see that everyone else was already there.

"Let's roll!" Dewey yelled and he floored it. Summer screamed and started yelling at Dewey, telling him to slow down. Everyone else laughed. That was typical Summer. The ride to the studio was uneventful, as was the actual time spent at the recording studio.

Katie played her bass just like she normally did. Which meant that she played in the same key for the whole time. The time slid by and when they were finally done recording Dewey took everyone home. As they neared Katie's house she said goodbye to everyone, clasped her bass firmly by the neck, and prepared to hop out of the van. Dewey pulled up in front of her house and she got out. She walked in and yelled to her mom.

"Mom! I need to go get my bass lesson at the music store!!!"

Her mom came out of the kitchen and walked with Katie out to the car. The ride to Sam Moss Guitars (a/n sorry if I said in the last chapter that she was going to a different place for her lesson, but I forgot if I did or not, so, yeah. Just humor me here.), the place where Katie was getting the lesson, was very short. Her mom dropped her in the parking lot and Katie walked in with her bass. They were ready for her in the back and she was taken back right away.

Her instructor's name was Jake. He looked like he was probably about twenty-one. He smiled and shook Katie's hand. She told him her problem and he grabbed a bass that was sitting in a corner. He showed her the notes one by one, and then had her play them back. She was able to get about half the notes that way. But she was having trouble with the other half.

Jake told her what the notes were, and she was able to get a few more. But she still had a lot to do. Katie tried over and over, but there were some notes that she just couldn't get. So Jake came and stood behind her, and he moved her fingers to the right places on the bass, and showed her which strings to strum.

She was getting it now that he was placing her hands in the right positions. She memorized the notes and played them back to Jake without faltering. It didn't sound like it flowed completely, but she still had a few days to practice. Jake wrote down the notes on a sheet of paper for her, just in case she forgot, and said goodbye.

Katie walked out into the main part of store. She checked out the window to see if her mom was there yet. She wasn't. So Katie walked around the store, checking all the cool stuff they had. There was one really cool guitar strap that she liked, but she didn't really need one.

She went to the guitar wall and scoped it out. They had a black Flying V bass and it was awesome. Katie wished that she could have one like that. They also had a lot that resembled what John Entwistle had had in his earlier days. Eventually she got bored of staring at guitars and checked again to see if her mom was there. She still wasn't.

Katie turned into an aisle and froze. Standing there was Summer. Her back was to Katie. Katie tried to run, but Summer turned around, spotted her, and started walking toward her. "Hey!" she said, "What are you doing her?" Katie tried to think up an answer, and fast.

"Um, you know, I was just checking out the guitars and all that stuff. And I was thinking, of maybe, um, you know, replacing my strings."

Summer seemed to buy it. But then Jake walked by, he was leaving, and on his way out he said, "Great lesson Katie!" Summer gaped at Katie. "Lesson?" she shouted. Katie hushed her and explained what had happened. And then she asked Summer, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I'm here with Dewey, we're getting some guitar picks pressed with the School of Rock seal, so that we can hand them out during our gig on Friday. And some for handing out when we sign autographs at the record store when the album comes out. Which brings me to this: do you prefer a pick that says School of Rock or one that just has the logo? Or maybe both? Or we were thinking about putting School of Rock on one side, and a picture of someone in the band on the other side. What do you think?"

"Um, I guess I like the idea of the ones with the pictures. It sounds cool."

Just then Dewey turned into the aisle. Katie whispered fervently to Summer, "Don't tell Dewey, okay? You can't tell anyone about my lesson!" They quickly did a pinky swear and put on innocent faces as Dewey strode down the aisle.

There was a honk from the parking lot and Katie glanced over her shoulder to see that her mom was there. She said hi to Dewey quickly and then ran out to the car.

-REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-


	12. The Gig

-Thanks to all my reviewers, you all rock! I think this is going to be the last chapter. I'm skipping over the rest of the week, because nothing happens, so please don't get mad or anything. Anyways, if you like The Who, or if you have some free time, please check out my fic Quadrophenia. I wrote it about a month ago and I thought it was pretty good, but I didn't get many reviews. But you don't have to read it if you don't want to. Anyways, here's the chapter!!!-

The week passed by until it was finally Friday. The band was at the recording studio, finishing up the dubs. It was mostly Dewey that had to work on dubs because he was back up guitar. When they finished, everyone was really happy. They wanted to go celebrate, but they couldn't because they had a gig. So the band loaded up in Dewey's van and he drove to Ziggy's.

As the van bounced along the road, Katie smiled. Not only had she just finished recording her first album, but she had a gig tonight and Summer had kept her secret! Everything was going really great for her right now. Lost in her thoughts, Katie was surprised when Zack tapped her shoulder. She looked up and realized that they were the only two in the van; they were at Ziggy's.

They headed inside, into the back room, where everyone else was gathered. Katie started tuning her bass while everyone else got warmed up. She'd been practicing her solo for My Generation at least five times a day, and she was pretty sure she had it down. She just hoped she didn't screw up.

She began to pretend pluck the strings, just making sure she remembered the notes. Suddenly, a loud noise shocked her. She looked out the side door of the room and saw that the opening band had begun to play. The band's name was Gold Star(a/n when I went to the actual Ziggy's to see the Psychedelic Furs, Gold Star opened for them, and Gold Star SUCKS!!!).

Gold Star really sucked. Really really sucked. They were just totally awful. Dewey got up from the chair he was sitting in and closed the side door. The noise was a little less. "They really suck" Zack said. Everyone nodded their heads solemnly. Gold Star was doomed to fail in everything.

Finally Gold Star stopped playing. The lights in the club went black, like they had before the sucky band had come on. Summer went over the play list quickly, making sure everyone knew it. She went over notes that people had missed at the last gig, trying to make sure that they got them right this time. "And," she said finally, "I'll have cups of water set up for you when you finish the set. Drink them quickly, and then go out and play the encore. Got it? Okay, everybody, let's rock!!!"

The roadies checked to make sure that everything was in working order, and the security guards were posted near the doors. Katie picked up her bass and walked along with the rest of the band onto the stage. She plugged the bass into the amp and was read to go.

The lights in the club came on and people started screaming and whistling. Dewey started playing the intro to their first song, and the crowd went crazy. Katie didn't have much work to do, so she just thought. And she realized that this would be the beginning of the end of their gigs at Ziggy's. The album would come out soon, and they would tour to support it. Then, hopefully, they would be big stars and they wouldn't ever play small clubs again.

It was sad, because Katie loved Ziggy's. It was a crappy little shack, but it held so many special memories of great gigs. And tonight she would make another memory when she played her first live solo. Katie practically quivered with anticipation.

When finally the set was over, the band ran backstage. Summer gave them all a congratulatory smile, but pulled Dewey over and began to yell at him in a whisper as he drank his water. The band downed their water quickly and then Summer pushed everyone back onto the stage.

The crowd went wild again. Dewey came up to the mike.

"Hey everybody! We're back to play one more song for you. It's called My Generation, originally by The Who." The crowd screamed, and then Dewey continued. "To make it an authentic Who sound, I won't be playing guitar, only singing, and Laurence will be sitting this one out too. Let's get rockin!!!"

Zack played the opening chords for My Generation. He was using an older guitar that used to be Dewey's, and he was wind milling often in a true Townshendian style. Katie plucked her bass, and since there wasn't another guitar playing, her notes were coming out strong. Dewey sang the words, and between every line the back up singers sang, "Talkin bout my generation!!!"

They got through the first two verses and then it was time for the bass solo. Katie plucked the strings with ferocity, and in between each bit Zack played his guitar. The crowd roared and whistled and Katie smiled. Dewey sang the final verse and prepared to walk off the stage. But the rest of the band wasn't done yet. Zack took his guitar and started jamming it into the amps. Then he held it high above his head and sent it crashing down. He smashed it to bits while the crowd went wild.

Freddy, playing Keith Moon for the song, began to kick his drums out. He threw them around the stage while Katie played her bass stoically, just like John Entwistle. Dewey smiled as he saw what they were doing and began singing the first verse over again, except this time he took the mike by the string of wire that attached it to the amp. he twirled it around in the air, imitating Roger Daltrey.

But Dewey had had no practice in swinging mikes. He nearly hit Katie and was about an inch away from giving Zack a serious concussion. Meanwhile, Freddy was still tearing up his drums, until all he had left were the cymbals, which he continued to play as Dewey continued to swing the mike.

Dewey swung the mike out into the audience, sparking cheers. Unfortunately, he tried it again and hit a guy squarely in the face. Summer, who was watching the debauchery from the side of the stage, freaked out and called medical help immediately. Then she dragged Dewey and the rest of School of Rock off the stage.

Once they were in the side room, Summer started lecturing Dewey, Zack, and Freddy on their antics. The band packed up their stuff and headed out to the van, with Summer still lecturing.

The band started loading into the van, when Katie heard someone yell, "Hey!" She turned around and saw a girl with brown hair running towards her. The girl reached Katie and said, "Hey, I just wanted to tell you, you guys played an awesome encore! It was just so...authentic. And your solo rocked!!!" Katie smiled and said, "Thanks."

The girl said, "Well, I gotta go." She started to walk away, but then turned back and screamed, "You guys rock!!!" (a/n that girl was me, because I felt like putting myself in there.)

Katie hopped into the van and Dewey revved the engine. She clutched her bass and smiled. She had a feeling that the album was going to do great, and that School of Rock was going to be famous. And that she'd be getting some more bass solos soon.

-Review it please! I'll probably do a few one shots after this, then I've got a full fledged story in the works, so look out for those!!!-


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